Coachella 2014: 10 reasons why Weekend 2 was better

Pharrell Williams performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Opening weekend at Coachella 2014 was a star-studded turning point for the renowned festival, one that seemed to set this sun-baked paradise on a new path. Yet the encore replay disspelled that notion by retaining all that has been great about this endurance test for 15 years.

The first weekend played out like a private Hollywood party crashed and trashed by petulant teenagers. But this past go-’round felt like the real thing again: exciting and exhausting, blissful and beautiful, and all about the music, not the scene.

Here are 10 other reasons why the second bash was much better than the first:

1. Better weather: Friday was the most comfortable day at Coachella I can recall, cooled by a giant raincloud that never burst and brought only mild humidity. Saturday heated up only about 10 degrees and was hardly unbearable – far finer than the near-sandstorm conditions of a week earlier. Three years in a row, Weekend 2 weather wins hands down.

2. Cooler people: The overwhelming majority of obnoxious too-hip types who come here merely to be seen were drawn to opening weekend, if only to say they witnessed things first and maybe snap selfies with plentiful celebs. The second crowd, already aware of most surprises and able to have assessed performances via the previous week’s live streaming, arrived with a different vibe.

Attuned to a seemingly wider variety of genres – alt-rock drew better this time, but so did attention-getters like Capital Cities (easily the most fun), Empire of the Sun (most colorful) and Skrillex (most daring in the Sahara tent) – Weekend 2 Coachellans’ mellower mood restored some faith that this festival isn’t on a downward slide into a senses-numbing EDM takeover.

3. The women: In 2003, you could count the number of women appearing on a Coachella stage on one hand with a missing pinky. The next year, that amount … doubled. A decade later, more than a dozen women performed out here – every day.

Female artists dominated the festival like never before, not just as occasional players in male-fronted bands but as leading stars and breakout favorites whose confidence only grew over the second weekend. Among them: Lorde, Ellie Goulding, Lana Del Rey, Laura Mvula, Kate Nash, the spitfires of Grouplove (exuberant on Friday) and MS MR, Warpaint, Dum Dum Girls (noticeably stronger this time), Solange (terrific even without a Beyoncé cameo).

Above all there was Haim, the fiercely talented darlings of Coachella 2014, who after another mangetic turn on Friday spent the next day turning up in other acts’ sets. It was a veritable Lilith Fair out here, and they’re the new queens.

4. OutKast: Less psyched out by Prince’s presence in the wings or the overall significance of their long-awaited return, the hip-hop trendsetters rebounded impressively by wisely re-strategizing. Solo spotlights for Big Boi and Andre 3000 got pared down, while one for newcomer Future was eliminated altogether. Their hurried end-run of hits was spread across the set instead, ensuring the crowd stayed engaged. Most evidently, the duo were more relaxed, resulting in the explosive performance we expected last weekend but never got. The difference was night and day, dress rehearsal to show time. Now it’s ready to wow at 40 more festivals.

5. The Replacements with Billie Joe Armstrong: “We’re the world’s greatest Replacements cover band,” Paul Westerberg quipped before kicking off a superior set from the remnants of the ramshackle ’Mats with a sublime take on “I Will Dare.” Two songs later, Green Day’s frontman emerged, bearded and shaggy and in a plaid suit to match the group’s look, and proceeded to lead or by led by one of his favorite bands for the better part of an hour. Classics (“Can’t Hardly Wait”) and obscurities (“Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out”) ensued, all while Westerberg sprawled out in cool poses on a sofa in front of the drum kit, his back ailing. It was raw and spontaneous – and inspired. The perfect encapsulation of everything that was once so great about this gang.

Pharrell Williams performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Cage the Elephant performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Kid Cudi performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Solange performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Queens of the Stone Age performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Fans pose for a photo during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Pharrell Williams performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
MGMT performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
MGMT performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
MGMT performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Fans dance to MGMT during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Lorde performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Lorde performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Solange performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Solange performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Pixies performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Queens of the Stone Age performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Queens of the Stone Age performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Pharrell Williams performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Pharrell Williams performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Pharrell Williams performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Pharrell Williams performs with T.I. during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Pharrell Williams performs with Usher during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL. CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Jay Z (left) performs with Pharrell Williams during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Muse performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Muse performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Muse performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Nas performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Outkast's André 3000 jams to Nas during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Nas performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Nas performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Cage the Elephant performs during day 2 of the second weekend of the 2014 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio. DAVID HALL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

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